Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City – Everything We Know

Some franchises are built perfect for virtual reality. The kind that makes you want to be the main characters, walking in their shoes and experiencing their world first-hand. Franchises like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) that, drumrolls please, are now receiving its own VR game. 

This means that you’ll finally be able to wear Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, or Michelangelo’s masks. Take your pick and launch yourself into the streets, sewers, and rooftops of New York City. However, for a franchise as big as TMNT, the execution must be done just right to capture the fast-paced and thrilling ninjutsu of the Ninja Turtles.

This is where Cortopia Studios and Beyond Frames Entertainment’s prowess comes in. In preparation for launch day, the studios have shared some exciting information with us on what to expect. Come along as we unpack everything we know so far about the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City below.

What is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City is an upcoming first-person action-adventure VR game. For the dedicated followers of TMNT, you’ll know that this will be the first-ever VR experience in the franchise. For that reason alone, excitement has been abounding over the story, gameplay, development process, and more. 

Story

First of all, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City will begin with the death of the turtles’ own Master Shredder. In his wake, the city descends into chaos. At the forefront of crime is the Foot Clan, which is growing stronger by the day. Therefore, you’ll be tasked with saving the day by spearheading your chapter solo or with friends. 

At the very least, we know that you’ll be controlling voiced Ninja Turtles, whether Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, or Michelangelo. And your mission will be taking back your home from the grip of the Foot Clan. 

Among the development team working on Empire City is Tom Walts, known for The Last Ronin and over 100 issues of the TMNT comic books. He’ll be consulting on the VR game, ensuring that the narrative stays true to the source material. 

Gameplay

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City is, first and foremost, a VR game. That means that you’ll need VR headsets to play the game. Since you’ll be controlling either one of the four Ninja Turtles, you can expect to tinker around with different fighting styles. 

Raphael is usually the muscle, while Donatello is the brains, for example. So, you’ll find Raphael’s fighting style more aggressive and focused on strength. Donatello, meanwhile, often leans on ninjutsu and his staff, parrying, counterattacking, and incorporating technological devices into his combat strategies.  

According to the Steam page, you’ll be mastering each turtle’s signature weapon, i.e, dual katanas (Leonardo), nunchucks (Michelangelo), sais (Raphael), and bo-staff (Donatello). Precision will be key as you strike enemies and block incoming damage. Overall, combat will take place in a first-person action-adventure perspective and genre. 

We also expect some exploration, as virtual reality games often immerse you in a world that feels real. Based on Steam, you can look forward to traversing urban landscapes using fluid parkour. This will likely incorporate running, jumping, and more defined abilities, such as grappling, flips, and wall-running. The Ninja Turtles are usually either fighting in the sewers, on the streets of New York, or on the rooftops. So, combat and parkour will likely adapt to these settings. 

Furthermore, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City plans to add familiar faces, both on the heroes’ and villains’ side. Overall, though, you’ll be spearheading your own chapter in the TMNT legacy, with the option to play solo or band together with friends of up to three players in online co-op mode. 

Development

Developer Cortopia Studios, in collaboration with publisher Beyond Frames Entertainment, is currently working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City. Interestingly, Cortopia Studios is a subsidiary of Beyond Frames. They have extensive experience in developing VR games across multiple genres, including VR gladiator simulator GORN 2, VR adventure Down the Rabbit Hole, competitive multiplayer shooter VR game Wands Alliances, and VR puzzle game Escaping Wonderland. 

For the upcoming Empire City, Cortopia Studios plans to include callbacks to TMNT films, comics, and games. However, Creative Director Ace St. Germain explains that they will be creating a unique TMNT VR experience, nonetheless. Moreover, he adds that the studio will draw inspiration from non-VR games, such as Sekiro, Batman: Arkham, Ghosts of Tsushima, and Spider-Man. But they have also personally played lots of combat and parkour traversal games in VR. Ultimately, their goal is to create an experience where players feel like a Ninja Turtle. 

Beyond Frames, on the other hand, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and partners with studios to launch products like Ghosts of Tabor (Combat Waffle Studios), Silhouette (Team Panoptes), and Outta Hand (Capricia Productions).

Trailer

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City trailer video may be brief. However, it does enough to spark intrigue over what’s to come. We step into a scene of the Ninja Turtles sharing a pizza after a presumably successful mission. A “sudden end to gang wars” newspaper article lies on the side of the table, suggesting their involvement in the pushback on crime. 

While munching, an alarm system goes off, along with a radio call about another gang war breakout on the Lower East Side. The Ninja Turtles are summoned to address the situation, which they eagerly accept, saying “Go, Go” and grabbing back their katanas, nunchucks, sais, and bo-staff to head back into another mission. 

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

The release date for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City has been set for sometime in 2026. As a VR game, you can look forward to it releasing on the Meta Quest and Steam VR platforms. However, editions for pre-order have yet to be revealed. 

In the meantime, you can always add the game to your wishlist on the Meta Store or Steam platforms. That way, you can remain in the loop of future updates. Alternatively, you can follow the official social media handles on Discord, X, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.